


Closure

by glancenuggets



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Childhood, Coming Out, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Light Angst, Mother-Son Relationship, Not Beta Read, Sort of????, Trans Akechi Goro, Trans Male Character, Trans Writer, You’ll see, at the beginning at least, deadnaming, i just want good things for goro, i promise she is, mama akechi is a good mom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2020-02-12
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,111
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21801865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glancenuggets/pseuds/glancenuggets
Summary: He dislikes that name. It makes him uncomfortable. His mother calls him that all the time, and he wants to tell her not to say it. He just isn’t ready yet.But he will be soon.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Akechi Goro's Mother
Comments: 3
Kudos: 63





	1. True Say, I Want and I Need

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, before we begin, I just wanna say that I wasn’t really sure how to handle Goro’s dead name
> 
> In the end, I ended up settling for censoring it out of respect for his current name, but I’ve read fics about trans characters coming out(not ones about goro, unfortunately) that have gone for using the dead name instead of censoring it and pulled it off without it being too uncomfortable or offensive  
> But I wasn’t sure I could pull it off so, I decided to play it safe

A small child living in a small town, in a small house, in a small bedroom opens his crimson eyes. His normally neat, shoulder-length brown hair is a mess. It’s morning. He just woke up.

His room is painted a soft pink, and all of his furniture is white with gold accents. His bed is raised up, and below it is a desk with a reading lamp and a comfortable chair. There’s a small dresser filled with clothes. It’s mostly shorts and pastel t-shirts, but there are a few skirts mixed in as well. The child avoids wearing them.

On the same wall his bed is against, there is a window, big enough for him to look out from both his tall bed and the desk underneath it. He is looking out the window, watching the morning clouds drift by. Suddenly, a soft voice calls to him, calls him a name that isn’t his.

“****, Come eat! I made pancakes!” It’s his mother. He flinches at the name, but gets excited when his mother mentions pancakes. They’re his favorite food, and his mother always makes them extra-special by mixing chocolate chips in the batter.

He runs downstairs as fast as he can, trying not to trip on the way. A beautiful young woman stands in the dining room. Her hair is brown and her eyes are a deep crimson, just like her child. “Good morning mama,” The child is happy. He gives his mother a hug.

“Good morning, sweetie! How’d you sleep?” His mother seems happy as well.

He pulls away from the hug. “Good,” The child rushes over to the table and sits on one of the chairs. He’s very hungry.

“That’s good,” His mother turns to go into the kitchen, “I’ll be right back, ok ****?” There it is again. That name. His stomach tightens; he feels nauseous.

He doesn’t hate his mother for saying it. He never actually told her how uncomfortable it makes him. He never told her his real name, either. So he doesn’t hate her, because she just doesn’t know. That doesn’t make it any less uncomfortable, though.

His mother comes back with a plate of hot, fluffy, chocolate chip pancakes, and sets it down in front of him. She sets a second plate at the place next to his, and goes back into the kitchen. The child watches his mother set the table, bringing out forks and knives and two glasses of milk. She sits at the chair next to him, and they start to eat.

Meals with his mother are always silent, both of them too focused on enjoying the food to make conversation. He looks around the house as he eats. It’s smaller than most houses, but he likes it that way. It’s cozy.

He can see the refrigerator from here, and looks at it for a bit. There’s a few things on it, sticky notes and restaurant menus, among other things. His most recent report card is stuck on the fridge with magnets. He didn’t do amazing, he got mostly B’s with one A and one C, but his mother still put a sticky note next to it saying how proud she is of him. It would be nice, if it weren’t for the fact that the note calls him the wrong name. A lot of things in the house call him the wrong name. His lunchbox, the sign on his bedroom door, even the pictures in the photo album. He feels uncomfortable again.

“What’s wrong?” His mother notices his discomfort. He must have been making a face. He could tell her now. It’s the perfect opportunity. He could tell her he wants to be a boy, the he wants to use a different name, that he wants to be a ‘he’. But the words won’t come out.

So instead, he smiles and says, “Nothing’s wrong, mama.” His mother doesn’t seem to believe him, but she doesn’t press him further. He’s grateful for that. He doesn’t wanna talk about it right now. Maybe someday, someday soon, but not now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I hope you like the chapter!  
> Trust me, there’s gonna be more than just this chapter, this isn’t all there is
> 
> If you can’t tell by the title of this fic and this chapter, I was listening to C7osure by Lil Nas X while writing this  
> It’s a really good song, you should definitely listen to it
> 
> Anyway, feedback is appreciated! Don’t be afraid to leave a comment!


	2. To Let Go, Use My Time to Be Free

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As his birthday draws nearer, he becomes more and more anxious. He doesn’t want to spend his next birthday opening gifts addressed to someone else and eating a cake with someone else’s name on it.
> 
> He’s getting closer and closer to telling his mother, but he’s worried. What if she doesn’t understand?

A small child sits on a small couch in a small living room watching cartoons on a small tv in a small house. His soft brown hair is tied up in a small ponytail. It’s late May, and the atmosphere is stifling, in more ways than one.

The child has been trying to tell his mother something for months, but every time he tries he gets too nervous. As the days went by, he felt more and more anxious. Everything he owns is labeled with the wrong name, taunting him, reminding him, that his mother still thinks of him as a little girl. The child is suddenly too anxious to focus on his cartoons anymore.

The basement door opens and a beautiful young woman steps into the room: his mother. She smiles at her child and moves to sit with him. The basket of clean clothes she’s holding gets set down on the floor. It’s laundry day. She begins to fold. Her child watches her.

He feels uneasy. He knows he has to tell her. His birthday is getting closer by the day, and he doesn’t want to eat a cake with someone else’s name on it. He sits next to his mother in uncomfortable silence, trying to muster up the courage to say it. His mother looks at him out of the corner of her eye. She can tell he has something to say. She waits for him to speak. The silence continues.

The child decides it’s now or never. He clears his throat. 

“...Mama?” He feels uneasy.

“What is it, sweetheart?” She speaks softly, trying to ease her child’s mind. It works, but only a little bit.

“There’s... something I need to tell you,” He’s afraid of what she’ll say, but it’s too late to back out now.

His mother turns to him with a gentle smile. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”

“I know...” His mother looks at him expectantly. It’s now or never. “Um, well... you know how you keep saying I’m a girl because I was born like that? I... I don’t think that’s right.”

“What do you mean?” His mother asks. She looks confused.

The boy sighs. “Mama, I... I’m not a girl. I’m a boy.” Silence follows, but not for long. The boy begins to ramble, unable to hold his feelings back after years of silence. “A-and, if you try to tell I’m wrong, I won’t listen! I know I’m a boy, and if you don’t agree with me, then-“

“Woah, woah! Sweetie, calm down!” His mother gently puts her hand on his shoulder. “I’m not going to tell you that you’re wrong, okay? You know yourself better than I could ever know you. You know who you are, so if you say that you’re a boy, it must be true.”

“...You’re not mad?”

“Mad? Of course not, why would I be mad? All I want is for you to be happy. If being a boy makes you happy, then I’ll support you in every way I can.” His mother gives him a gentle smile, “I’m glad you told me.” He doesn’t know what to say. So he doesn’t say anything. He leans over and wraps his arms around his mother, and she returns the hug. They sit there for a while, embracing in the hot May air while the newest episode of Phoenix Ranger Featherman plays on the television.

“Sweetheart, you’re crying,” The boy’s mother pulls back from the hug. Soft hands cup his face, thumbs gently wiping away his tears. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing mama, I’m just really really happy,” He smiles at her. This is the happiest he’s ever been. His mother smiles back.

“That’s good, then.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ll treat you like a boy from now on. If you ever need me to do anything, tell me, ok?” Her son nods.

“Um, there is one thing you can do right now...” He looks nervous again.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Can you... can I... uh, can you stop calling me ****? It makes me uncomfortable...”

“Oh! Of course I can, dear. Do you know what you want me to call you instead, or do you want me to come up with a new name?” She gives him a patient smile.

“Oh, I hadn’t really thought of that...” He thinks about it for a moment. “You can give me a new one, if you want...”

“Hmm... well, when I was pregnant with you, I came up with two names, a boy name and a girl name. You already know what I decided to name you, but the other name I picked was Goro. I could call you that from now on, if you’d like?”

The boy thinks for a moment. “...I think I’d like that a lot.”

His mother smiles at him. “Ok, then I’ll call you Goro from now on.” They fall into a comfortable silence, Goro watching cartoons while his mother folds clean clothes.

“Goro?”

“Huh? What is it, mama?” The sudden break in the silence startles him, but hearing his name makes him happier than ever.

“I love you very much.”

Goro turns to his mother and smiles. “I love you too, mama.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y’all, it’s me  
> Sorry this took so long to write, I’ve been dealing with a lot of school related stuff lately and haven’t had time to write  
> College is a bitch lol
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter! I had a little difficulty writing this one, but I really like how it came out!
> 
> Like last chapter, I was listening to C7osure by Lil Nas X while writing this
> 
> Feedback is appreciated! Don’t be afraid to leave a comment!


	3. But I Look Back At This Moment, I’ll See That I’m Fine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His birthday has arrived, and he’s celebrating as his true self. He can’t wait to blow out the candle, but before that, his mother has a surprise for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so, first of all, I’m sorry this took so long to write. I’ve been kinda busy lately :p
> 
> Second of all, I was sick while writing the second half of this chapter, so if half of this chapter sucks it’s cuz of that

Deep red eyes open as the new day begins. The boy sits up and pushes his messy brown hair out of his eyes.

His room is painted a pristine white, fading into a deep red near the floor. All of his furniture is white with gold accents. His bed is raised up, and below it is a desk with a reading lamp and a comfortable chair. There’s a small dresser filled with shorts, pants, and t-shirts.

On the same wall his bed is against, there is a window, big enough for him to look out from both his tall bed and the desk underneath it. He is looking out the window right now, watching the morning clouds drift by. Suddenly, a soft voice calls his name.

“Goro, come eat! I made pancakes!” The boy’s eyes light up at the mention of pancakes. He gets out of bed and rushes downstairs.

His mother has already set the table, stacks of fluffy chocolate chip pancakes sitting atop two plates. One of the stacks has a lit candle on it. The boy excitedly sits in front of the pancake stack with the candle.

“Ah, not yet! First, I have something to show you!” His mother sounds excited, yet slightly nervous. The boy watches her bring something over from the living room. It’s a thin three ring binder. There’s a good amount of pages in it, but not so many that it’s overpacked. She sets it down on the table. The cover reads, “Akechi Family Photo Album”. She opens it to the first page. There are several pictures of the boy as a baby, including one of his mother holding him for the first time after his birth.

The boy and his mother flip through the album, watching the boy grow up through the photos. He’s seen most of these photos before, but they’ve never been organized in one place like this. There’s something different about them, though. Many of the photos were labeled with what event it commemorated, like his first birthday or the first time he got an A on his report card. But there’s whiteout on most of the captions, covering where his old name was written. In its place is the name “Goro”. His name.

“I thought it would be nice to have all of our photos in the same place,” His mother looks at him with a warm smile on her face. She turns to look at the photo album again, running her fingers over some of the whiteout. “And, I wanted to show you that even though neither of us knew it until now, you’ve always been my little boy.”

“Mama...” The boy never expected his mother to do something like this, let alone actually acknowledge the fact that he is a boy. It’s in this moment that he realizes just how much his mother loves him. He looks at his mother with a tearful smile and hugs her.

They separate after a while, and the boy’s mother speaks up, “Now, it’s time for your birthday breakfast!” The boy has been waiting for this. He turns towards his stack of pancakes, takes a deep breath, and blows out the candle. His mother claps enthusiastically. “So, what did you wish for?”

“I didn’t really wish for anything,” The boy looks at his mother and smiles. “I already have everything I need.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, that’s it! That’s the end! This took forever to write, but I’m honestly kind of proud of how this turned out :)
> 
> Also before anyone asks, the photo album wasn’t Goro’s birthday present, his mom just showed it to him on his birthday as a little surprise
> 
> Goro did get an actual present for his birthday, but my brain is mush right now so I can’t decide what his mom got for him
> 
> Uhhhhh, anyway, as usual this chapter was written while I listened to C7osure by Lil Nas X  
> It’s a good song go check it out if you haven’t already
> 
> Don’t forget to comment, feedback is very appreciated!


End file.
